Cheshire High School graduates told not to fear failure

Members of the class of 2018 at Cheshire High School march toward their seats Thursday night during graduation ceremonies at Alumni Field.

Members of the class of 2018 at Cheshire High School march toward their seats Thursday night during graduation ceremonies at Alumni Field.

Photo: Luther Turmelle / Hearst Connecticut Media

Photo: Luther Turmelle / Hearst Connecticut Media

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Members of the class of 2018 at Cheshire High School march toward their seats Thursday night during graduation ceremonies at Alumni Field.

Members of the class of 2018 at Cheshire High School march toward their seats Thursday night during graduation ceremonies at Alumni Field.

Photo: Luther Turmelle / Hearst Connecticut Media

Cheshire High School graduates told not to fear failure

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CHESHIRE — Superintendent of Schools Jeff Solan told the 342 members of Cheshire High School’s 64th graduating class not to fear failure as they head into the next phase of their lives, but to embrace it.

“The occasional setback isn’t just OK, it should be welcomed,” Solan said during the class of 2018’s graduation ceremony at Alumni Field. “Allow the potholes in life to serve as a opportunity for growth.”

It was a theme that was repeated frequently during the ceremony. Class president Isaac Moskowitz said the strength in each of his classmates comes from accepting that there are times when everyone fails at something in life.

“All too often, we define ourselves by our successes and our failures,” Moskowitz told his classmates. Real strength, he said, comes from assessing an individual’s strength and weakness and figuring out what matters in life.

Principal Mary Gadd urged students to “stay positive” during the turbulent times this country is going through.

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A total of 342 Cheshire High School seniors got their diplomas Thursday night at Alumni Field.

Media: CTGlobal

“Find out what is real about you and the people in your midst,” Gadd said.

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Valedictorian Jessica Tan said the faculty at Cheshire High School taught members of the graduating class to think critically.

“Our teachers did not feed us a finite set of facts,” Tan said. “We learned how to learn and why we’re learning.”

Parent Phil Brewer looked on proudly as his son Ben, the last of his four children to graduate from Cheshire High School, got his diploma. Brewer called his son’s graduation “a sweet moment” even though he has been through it with his other three children.

“They start out so little and now you find yourself here,” Brewer said. Ben Brewer will attend Boston University in fall, where he will study engineering.